SET against the backdrop of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Dark Blue is a gritty police thriller from an original script by renowned fiction writer James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential).

It's April, just days before four white officers from the LAPD are sensationally acquitted of beating black motorist Rodney King.

Race relations in the city are threatening to spiral out of control and the police force is under close scrutiny to root out any bigots within its ranks.

In this dangerously charged atmosphere, Assistant Chief Holland (Ving Rhames) from the Special Investigations Squad (SIS) attempts to set his house in order by ferreting out dirty cops.

One of Holland's prime targets is fiery tempered veteran detective Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell), who often uses violence to secure a conviction, with the unspoken approval of his equally corrupt superior, Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson).

However, Perry and rookie Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman) are involved in a high profile quadruple homicide case, which could bring the department valuable positive publicity.

So Holland bides his time, gathering additional evidence with the help of his colleague Sergeant Beth Williamson (Michael Michele), who has recently begun dating Keough.

Dark Blue is a familiar tale of corruption in the police ranks and the steady corruption of a naive rookie by his veteran mentor.

The film bears striking similarities to Training Day, the film which netted Denzel Washington his Oscar.

Like Washington, Russell delivers an incendiary lead performance, which proves there is plenty of life in the middle-aged actor yet, including an electrifying speech in the closing minutes as the city burns around him.

Speedman's pretty boy protege is rather two-dimensional in comparison and Rhames' crusading top cop is disappointingly peripheral to the central action.

Shelton directs with a real urgency and the recreation of the riots in the film's closing minutes is horribly believable - the sight of white motorists being dragged from their cars and battered to death in the streets is truly sickening.

Rating: 6/10